


Let Me Help You Find Something (Big Enough To Share)

by pierrot



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 16:44:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6160015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pierrot/pseuds/pierrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jun and Nino move in together during their final year of university, everyone fears for the end of their friendship, but it's Sho and Jun whose relationship needs work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let Me Help You Find Something (Big Enough To Share)

**Author's Note:**

> Just a fairly silly story, because I kept getting bogged down in Sakumoto angst and needed a distraction. Concrit welcome.

When Jun and Nino decide to move into the same apartment during their final year of university, everyone predicts that it will only take a month before it ends in total despair, a tragic ending to once good friendship.

Jun calls Aiba, Ohno and Sho out to drinks to tell them the news because he know that if he leaves it to Nino, they’ll probably only find out if they try to go visit Nino and find Jun living in his apartment.

“Just so you know,” Aiba declares, his beer sloshing onto the table as he gestures a bit too forcefully, “I’ve known both of you too long to lose either of you as friends now, so when you break up, you’re not allowed to make me choose.”

Nino promptly reaches over and smacks him on the head. “Idiot. We’re not going to break up. We’re not even dating in the first place.”

“Nino’s right; stop being overdramatic, Aiba. We’re just living together, it’s not a big deal.” Jun eyes the puddle of beer now on the table in front of Aiba and thinks that there are definitely worse roommate options than Nino.

Ohno looks up from where he was doodling a picture of what appears to be Jun and Nino standing in front of a house on the back of a coaster. “You can have my family’s old rice cooker if you want? We just bought a new one.”

“Thank you, Ohno. See? It’s going to work out fine.” Jun is grateful enough at the support that he chooses to ignore the fact that Ohno drew him wearing a frilly apron and nothing else.

 

Surprisingly, it does work out fine.

The first semester passes and Jun and Nino appear to be as good friends as ever. Which means that Nino calls Jun embarrassing nicknames and teases him about his hair, while Jun regularly threatens to hide his games if Nino doesn’t eat a proper meal that includes something other than hamburger. But that’s about par for the course for them, and there hasn’t been any actual irreversible property damage yet, so the Grand Living Together Experiment is considered a surprise success.

Sho theorises that it works because they rarely even have to see each other most days. “You’re always holed up in your room with your games and you sleep through Jun’s grouchy morning routine. He’s always out studying at the library or spending time with other people. You might as well not even be living together.” Sho has had plenty of time to observe the domestic habits of Jun and Nino seeing as he always seems to be over at their apartment.

Nino doesn’t have much patience for Sho’s observations at that moment. He’s too busy trying to tidy the mess of notes and textbooks he’d left on the coffee table during the morning’s frantic rush to finish an assessment. “We live together because it’s cheaper. You’re just bitter no one wants to live with you because you’re annoying and messy.” Nino frowns as he spies a bit of cloth poking out from under the couch. Picking it up reveals a red t-shirt, not one of his or Jun’s. He looks over at Sho, who is sitting at the dining table munching on cereal that Nino’s also sure neither he nor Jun bought.

“Although now I’m not sure whether you don’t live with us.” He tosses the shirt over at Sho, disappointed when it doesn’t hit him in the face. “Why would you take your shirt off in here anyway? Are you and Junpon having wild, awkward sex I’m not aware of?”

Sho turns red and looks back down at his cereal. In actual fact, Jun and Sho hadn’t been on the best of terms ever since Jun’s Birthday Incident last month. Sho really thought he would have gotten over it by now. _(“You ruined his favourite pan, Sho! You set his oven on fire and he thought we were going to be kicked out!”)_ But Jun still seems determined to maintain a level of stiff indifference towards him.

Sometimes Sho thinks he can feel Jun staring at him when they are together, but he never manages to catch him looking.

“It’s my gym shirt. I didn’t take it off here, I must have accidentally thrown it under the couch when I was looking for something in my bag.” Sho thinks that Nino’s comment about Jun is better left unaddressed.

“Great, so not only did I just handle your dirty shirt, but your dirty, _sweaty_ shirt? Let me reiterate, Sho, that I don’t live with you precisely to avoid having to deal with you leaving your clothes everywhere. If you’re going to do that here anyway, I’m going to start making you pay rent.”

Sho wants to mention the many times he’s paid for Nino’s meals and drinks but he knows Nino will just say it’s the price of spending time with him. It’s not like Sho sleeps here or even eats their food. Mostly because he’s too scared of Jun to touch his, and Nino never has anything besides cup ramen and stale milk buns. Sho even brought his own cereal, which he notices Nino is now eating straight from the box.

“If you start making me pay your rent, I might as well be paying for everything in your life.”

Nino looks over at him, eyebrows raised. “So what, you’d be like my sugar daddy then?” He’s smirking now and that’s never a good sign. “I think I could be okay with that.”

Before Sho can even say anything, Nino has launched himself into Sho’s lap, his arms coming up to rest on Sho’s shoulders. “We can start right now if you want.”

It’s at that moment Jun walks through the door.

Sho immediately moves to dislodge Nino but he stays firmly put, grinning sweetly. Sho can’t even look at Jun as he walks past them, heading straight for his room.

“Hey J, welcome home.” The only response Nino gets is the sound of Jun closing his door. Sho groans and leans forward to bury his head on Nino’s shoulder.

“I really hate you sometimes.”

Nino pokes at the side of Sho’s forehead none too gently with stubby fingers.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but do you come over here all the time hoping that Jun will start treating you normally again?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? Yes?”

This response is met with an exasperated sigh. “I’m friends with idiots. And for once, I don’t just mean Aiba.”

  
  


Two days later, Jun buys himself a bonsai.

“I think he’s preparing himself for bachelorhood,” Nino tells the others over lunch. Jun had already gone home early that day to take care of his new plant. Apparently it needed a lot of attention.

“What are you talking about? Girls are always telling me they like Matsujun, he has plenty of options.” Aiba pouts. “Girls never tell me they like _me_.”

“Why would they,” Nino snipes. Aiba tries to hit him but he’s too far away and only manages to bang his hip against the table. He cries out in pain and Nino laughs. Sho is just glad Aiba didn’t fall off his chair this time.

It’s Ohno who states the obvious, voice soft as ever. “It’s not like Jun would be interested in them though Aiba.”

Aiba’s face transforms from one of pain to confusion, before he makes sense of what Ohno is saying.

“Oh. Right.” Aiba shrugs. “Sorry, I forgot.”

The moment almost passes before Sho realises the implications of what they said.

“Wait,” he begins, and stops himself. This is a delicate topic and he probably needs to be careful with how he phrases what he says next lest he embarrass himself.

“Is Matsujun _gay?_ ”

Well, at least he tried.

Aiba cocks his head. “Well, I don’t think he’s ever said so explicitly, but… yes?”

“How long have you all known this? Why didn’t I know?”  
  
“Honestly, we thought you did know already,” says Ohno. “It’s pretty obvious? Jun’s a private person but he doesn’t try to hide it either.”

Nino lets out an exaggerated sigh and looks directly at Sho. “Okay, remember the other week when we were talking about sharing our porn with each other? And how Jun said we wouldn’t be interested in the type of porn he watched?”

“I thought he was talking about his whole BDSM fetish thing.”

“And remember how he’s mentioned that he really likes how _men_ look in black leather and bound?”

“Aesthetic appreciation? Narcissism?”

“What about that time we talked about the posters we had on our walls growing up and Jun’s were all male idols?”

“I thought he just wanted to be like them!”

And then Ohno drops the biggest bombshell of them all. “I saw him kissing a guy once in our first year.”

Sho thinks he might faint.

No one else seems all that surprised. “Was that the guy he was always hanging around?” asks Aiba. “The one that came with him to the party Toma held to celebrate the end of exams, but none of us knew who he was so it was kind of awkward?”

Sho remembers the guy now. Tall and kind of mysterious with his messy black hair and sleepy expression. Jun had showed up to Toma’s party with him and barely spoke two words to Sho. Sho had been so busy and stressed with studying back then that he’d kept blowing Jun off whenever they were supposed to meet, so when the party rolled around he thought Jun must have moved on to new friends. He was surprised when second year started and Jun was back to eating and studying with them all the time (but no longer calling Sho up to hang out, just the two of them).

Nino rolls his eyes. “Yes, they were dating and then they broke up. Is everyone finally all caught up now?”

Sho thinks about the party, remembers looking at Jun from across the room and the way he laughed so openly with this other guy. The pangs of guilt and regret he felt in that moment.

Sho sinks down into his chair. “Wow, I think I’ve really been an idiot.”

He pouts a little at Nino, hoping he might get at least a little sympathy. Nino just snorts. “You finally realised?”

Sho is definitely not paying for Nino’s lunch.

  
  


It shouldn’t be so weird for Jun and Nino’s apartment to return to being just Jun and Nino’s apartment, without the honorary third roommate Sakurai Sho. But it is. It feels empty now without the extra chatter in the afternoons, or the food and beer Sho likes filling the fridge. Nino tries to question him on why he hasn’t been over but Sho just mumbles something about it being too awkward.

“He knows I was just teasing you that time, it’s not a big deal.”

“That’s not the point.”

If Nino has an idea of what Sho’s unsaid feelings may be, well, he isn’t going to say anything. Not yet, anyway.

Sho’s absence isn’t the only thing upsetting the apartment dynamics Nino has grown used to. Jun is home a lot more lately as well. More often than not, he’s sitting at the dining table when Nino gets back, eyes glancing up from whatever he was doing to look at Nino briefly without so much as a greeting.

 _“I can’t magically transform into who you want me to be!”_ Nino wants to snap at him.

Nino also learns that there is a definite limit to how much one could listen to talk about gardening, even when the person talking was a close personal friend. It is not a long limit. His obvious disinterest has yet to dissuade Jun, unfortunately, and Nino keeps waking from dreams about giant, anthropomorphic bonsais with thick eyebrows chasing him.

“Have you been getting our mail recently?”

Nino doesn’t look up from where he’s curled up on the couch, busy pounding the buttons on his DS. “Yeah.”

“Where did you put it? I don’t see anything new in the mail folder.”

Jun bought the mail folder when they first moved in so they could keep everything neatly organised without worrying about missing any bill payments. Nino just found it a hassle, but Sho always liked to organise it for him when he needed a break from studying. He would sit at the table, carefully sorting everything by type and adding little post-it notes to anything that needed attention.

“I put it on the bookcase.” He hits pause on his game and sits up.. “Sho is the one who always put everything in the folder.”

Jun freezes, but keeps his face carefully impassive. “Oh.”

“When are you going to take the stick out of your ass and go fix things with Sho?”

Jun glares at him. “There’s nothing to fix.”

Nino flops back down onto the couch. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

  
  


It’s Aiba who decides they need to stage an intervention.

“Exams start soon and then it will be Christmas! Families are supposed to be together at Christmas. How are you going to throw me an awesome birthday party if Sho and Jun aren’t getting along?”

“I didn’t know we were supposed to throw you a party,” says Nino. “More importantly, why are you still wearing your hat inside? And what’s with the trenchcoat?”

“It’s my disguise! For our super secret plan. Ohno, I told you to bring one too.”

“Ah, sorry.” Ohno pulls a red beret out from his bag and puts it on his head.

“Aiba, we don’t need disguises to discuss the plan. Which I’m starting to feel very doubtful about and you haven’t even told me anything about it yet.”

“It’s okay, Nino, Aiba said he came up with some different ideas of what we can do.”

“Yes, lots of ideas!” Aiba opens the black notebook sitting on the table in front of him. “I’ve been thinking about what would happen if this was a drama, right? And in dramas people always end up getting stuck together somewhere, don’t they? Like an elevator!” He lifts the notebook up to point at a crude drawing of two stick figures in a box. “We have to trap them in a room together.”

Ohno looks contemplative. “How would we get them trapped somewhere at the same time?”

“See, I was thinking about that, and I figure what we really need to do is ramp up the tension.  That’s where the disguises come in.” Nino narrows his eyes. “We should kidnap them and pretend to hold them hostage. It’ll be so cool, just like a movie. We can even have code names!”

Ohno and Nino are unmoved. “I don’t think we should do anything dangerous,” says Ohno.

“More importantly, I think there’s probably just a good chance of them hurting us if we try to kidnap them. And they definitely will hurt us once they find out.”

Aiba frowns. “Fine, but now you’re not going to get to hear the code names I had picked out for everyone.” He looks at them both pointedly. Nino rolls his eyes at him. Ohno just picks his nose, unconcerned.

“It’s okay, I have another plan.” Aiba flips the pages of his notebook over and holds it back up with a flourish.

“ _Operation Love Sick?_ What does that mean?”

“Simple; we make Sho get sick and then Jun can nurse him back to health. It always works in dramas.”

“Just one thing: how would Jun end up taking care of him when Sho would surely stay at home with his family?”

“But it can’t be the other way around. Sho can’t cook.”

“That’s right.” Ohno nods. “Jun was pretty upset after Sho almost burned down your kitchen. I don’t think he would let Sho cook for him if he was sick.”

Nino rubs his nose in frustration. “That isn’t exactly the only problem.”

Aiba holds his hands up in defeat. “Fine, fine. We’ll go with the boring plan then.” He sighs. “You’re no fun.”

  
  


The plan Aiba ends up proposing may be boring by his standards, but it’s good enough for Nino to begrudgingly agree to go along with it. Ohno is just a little disappointed he won’t need a disguise after all.

It begins with Aiba insisting that they throw Ohno a surprise birthday dinner. Sho immediately offers some concern over impending exams and the need to study for them.

“That’s just all the more reason to do it now, before everything gets too crazy and you hole yourself up in the library with only textbooks and caffeine to keep you company,” is Aiba’s response. “One evening off won’t hurt you, Sho.” They’ve all learned that Aiba can be very good at getting his way, so there’s not too much resistance in the end.

Of course, it’s not really going to be a surprise for Ohno, having been informed of this all in advance. Nino thinks this probably isn’t a bad thing, considering Ohno could fail to turn up entirely otherwise.

They agree to meet at Jun and Nino’s apartment at five o’clock that Saturday. “It will be fun to all shop and cook together,” Aiba insists. Jun almost brings up the disaster that was Sho’s attempt at baking him a cake under Aiba’s guidance, and how not fun that was. But he doesn’t really want to see that kicked puppy dog expression Sho makes every time it’s brought up again. Jun will make sure to be in charge of the kitchen this time, so he supposes it will be fine.

When Saturday rolls around, it ends up being just Nino, Aiba and Jun, standing around the apartment still waiting for Sho who is uncharacteristically late.

“Sho’s still going to be another twenty minutes,” Nino whispers to Aiba, while Jun is in the bathroom. “He just sent me a text to apologise. What do we do now?”

Aiba takes a moment to think, scratching his head. “I think maybe instead of waiting for him to get here we should go shopping soon. Tell him to meet us there.”

Nino nods. “Jun, stop messing with your hair, we’re going shopping now!”

Fifteen seconds later, Jun emerge from the bathroom, a hand smoothing his hair into place. “Asshole, I was brushing my teeth.”

“What do you need to brush your teeth so many times for?” Nino snipes back. “Not hoping to kiss anyone, are we?”

Jun ignores him and turns to Aiba. “Sho isn’t here?”

“He’ll meet us at the supermarket. Ready to go?”

The walk to the supermarket is relaxed with just the three of them. Aiba almost forgets about the whole plan thing, he’s having so much fun joking with Jun and Nino. It makes him glad he insisted on the evening, whatever ulterior motives he may have had, because truly there is nothing better than when they are all together like this. And it will be perfect when Sho and Ohno are there too.

He stops them outside the supermarket. “We’re a bit shorter on time now, so I think it will be better if one of us buys the cake while the others shop. Nino?”

“I’m on it.” Nino sticks out his hand. “Give me money.”

Aiba frowns but pulls out his wallet. “We’re going to split everything evenly in the end anyway, don’t think you can get out of paying.” Nino grabs a few notes out of Aiba’s wallet and heads off with a wave.

Aiba makes sure to send Sho a quick text before they start shopping. _WENT 2 AKAFUDADO. TXT ME WHEN UR HERE!!!_ He keeps checking his phone so not to miss a response, and Jun grows steadily more annoyed with him.

“Aiba, I could have just done this earlier if I knew I was going to be choosing everything alone anyway.”

“Sorry Matsujun.” Aiba feels a buzz from his pocket. “Actually, I need to go to the bathroom. I promise I’ll be more helpful when I come back!” He dashes away before Jun can say anything, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Jun looks despairingly after Aiba as he heads off. He decides that if everyone is just going to leave it up to him, he’s going to buy whatever ingredients he wants without anyone being allowed to complain about the cost. It’s all for Ohno’s birthday anyway; he deserves the best, even if he’d probably be happy with anything.

Jun is busy frowning at the tomatoes, trying to decide which ones are best, when he’s interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Matsujun?”

Jun turns to find himself face-to-face with Sho. His hair is sticking up a bit funny at the back and there are deep bags under his eyes.

“The others aren’t here?”

“Nino’s getting a cake. Aiba said he needed to go to the bathroom.”

Sho nods slowly. They both stand still for a moment, not quite looking at each other.

“Can I take that for you?” asks Sho, reaching his hand for the basket Jun is holding. “It looks heavy.”

Jun hands the basket over and turns back to the tomatoes. He grabs a bunch at random, putting them in a bag before handing them over to Sho.

“What are we eating tonight?”

“Aiba wanted to experiment with tempura. Whether or not we’ll actually end up eating any of it is still up for debate.” Sho laughs a little at that. “I thought I’d make some pasta as well so we don’t have to worry about starving.”

“So a fusion theme then?” Sho’s still smiling. “Your food is always delicious, I’m looking forward to it.”

Jun warms a bit at the praise. They continue on through the aisles wordlessly, Sho following Jun as he finds what he needs. It’s only when they’re in the last aisle that Sho interrupts him with a gentle tap on his arm.

“That’s the dishwashing liquid you like, right?” He’ points at a row of bright pink bottles.

Jun looks over, sees the discount sign in front of them. “Thanks,” he says, and takes one of the bottles to add to the basket. “You know which dishwashing liquid I like?”

Sho nods. “I like how it smells.”

“Apples,” says Jun.

They still again, and Jun take a moment to look at Sho. He’s grasping the basket in his hands tightly, still looking firmly ahead at the household products in front of him. The redness in his eyes has faded a bit, but he still looks tired. Jun knows he probably stayed up late studying in return for coming tonight. That was just like him, after all.

He’s about to turn away when Sho speaks again. “You know,” he starts, still not looking at Jun. “That time with Nino… there was nothing going on, he was just teasing me.”

Jun’s surprised he even brought it up. It’s not like he hadn’t walked on Ohno and Nino in far more compromising positions, it was how everyone was sometimes. Just rarely with Jun.

“I know. Nino told me.” Jun shrugs. “I know you’re not like that anyway.”

Sho stiffens slightly but Jun is already turning away. Nothing else is said until they reach the cash register, only entering in a brief exchange to figure out how to split the payment between them.

Once outside, they’re saved from any further conversation by the sight of Aiba, Nino and Ohno standing together at the intersection, looking to be in the midst of a serious discussion. Nino sees them first and nudges Aiba to bring them to his attention. He turns around, serious face instantly brightening at the sight of them.

“Sho!” he calls. “You’re here!” Aiba bounds over to Sho and Jun, Nino and Ohno trailing behind. “Sorry Jun for leaving you, I got caught up. But it looks like you had Sho to help you anyway, right?”

Ohno, now standing next to Aiba, nods in greeting at Sho and Jun. “Hi.”

“Ohno!” replies Sho. “Happy Birthday! I mean, surprise?” He looks helplessly at the others.

Nino shrugs. “Ohno asked me where I was so I told him. Oh yeah,” he thrusts the box he’s holding at Ohno, “Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you.” Ohno lifts the lid of the box. “It’s a cake.”

Jun frowns. “Shouldn’t we have kept the cake for after dinner?”

“Well we don’t have an actual present to give him.”

They all look at each other for a moment. Sho cocks his head, amused. “I don’t think we’re very good at this birthday thing.”

Whether or not they are, the dinner is enjoyable enough to make up for it. Aiba only has a few minor disasters with his tempura experiments – nothing that can’t be laughed off – and Jun’s pasta almost has Sho reaching back for thirds. They’re all feeling pretty sick by the time they’ve finished, from all the food and wine and cake, but it’s worth it.

Jun is pretty sure the others have been trying to subtly force Sho and him together all night. His suspicions are confirmed when the group smoke break out on the balcony ends with the others all abruptly heading back inside so it’s just Jun and Sho left finishing up. Jun looks at the slowly burning paper in his hand and wonders how much longer it will take.

But it’s Sho who finishes first. “I should head back home,” he says, stubbing his cigarette in the jar they were using as a makeshift ashtray. He faces Jun. “Tonight was a lot of fun though.” He smiles. “Thanks for cooking, Jun. And for having us all here.”

Jun nods, taking a slow drag from his cigarette. “You know, you can come over anytime.” He’s not quite looking directly at Sho. “I don’t hate you or anything. If you thought I did.”

Sho’s voice is quiet. “Thanks.” He moves to leave but stops himself.

“Jun. What you said before, about you knowing I’m not like that?” Jun nods slightly and waits for Sho’s follow up, but Sho’s not looking at him now. “I’m not really. But… sometimes? With the right person, I mean.” A beat. “Not Nino.”

Sho glances at Jun quickly and their eyes lock for a moment. The smoke feels heavy in Jun’s mouth but Sho is already gone, back inside the apartment to say his goodbyes.

  
  


“It’s right before Christmas, shouldn’t we just have a Christmas themed party?”

Jun frowns as he continues chopping vegetables at the kitchen counter. “Isn’t that a bit cliché?”

Nino groans and leans back on his chair. “I don’t care, I don’t want to plan this stupid party anyway.”

“Can I just say,” pipes in Sho from the other side of the table, “that I can’t believe you guys are talking about this now. We have an exam tomorrow and you’re trying to plan Aiba’s birthday party now?” He has a pile of papers strewn out in front of him and Nino’s sure he can see his pen actually vibrating in his hand.

“You don’t have to be here.” Nino reaches out to take the pen away before Sho drops it.

“You told me you would study with me! We were supposed to go to the library but you insisted we come here instead.”

“Because I know you’ll just drink an inhuman amount of coffee if we leave you alone in the library, and this way you get to eat some proper food. Back me up here, Jun.”

“I don’t know how I ended up as your personal cook,” Jun grumbles. “But he’s right, Sho. I’ll have this done soon and you’ll feel better once you’ve eaten.” Jun places a pan on the stovetop and lights the gas.

Sho sighs in resignation. “Fine, let’s get this out of the way so that after dinner we can focus solely on studying.”

Nino smiles. “Knew you’d see it my way. Do we know how many people are coming Jun?”

“The five us, Toma, some of Aiba’s friends from his course, a couple of girls I think he’s hoping he might have a chance of hooking up with plus their friends… around fifteen maybe? I told him we can’t have too many people here.”

“Let’s just keep everyone liquored up so no one cares too much about anything else.”

“As long no one throws up on the couch or passes out on my bed.” Jun pauses. “Or throws up on my bed.”

The smell of ginger and garlic frying is filling the apartment now, and Sho suddenly realises just how starving he is. “Food?” he asks.

“Almost done,” Jun replies. He looks over his shoulder at Sho. “Move that stuff off the table please.”

“I meant for the party.” Sho gathers his papers and books into a pile and stands up to carry them over to the coffee table.

“Toma said he could get some for cheap from the place he works at. And then we’ll buy some extra snacks. Ohno volunteered to be on cake duty this time.”

Jun is portioning off food into bowls now so Sho goes over to help him bring everything out. Once they’re all seated and ready, he can’t help inhaling it all quickly. A tiny smile plays on Jun’s lips at the sight.

“Good?”

Sho nods enthusiastically, cheeks bulging.

There’s a few minutes where they eat in silence, enjoying their dinner, before discussion starts again.

“Okay, theme then?” asks Jun.

“Let’s skip it,” replies Nino. “I know Aiba likes them but they’re just a pain. And he’ll thank us when he doesn’t show up in a weird costume that turns off his potential date.”

Jun nods. “So we keep it simple and use most of our money on alcohol. Sounds good.”

Sho’s slowed down his frantic chewing now he’s almost finished, and swallows his last few mouthfuls carefully. “I’m surprised you even agreed to host this, Nino.”

“Didn’t have a choice.” Nino scowls. “Owed Aiba a favour.”

Sho and Jun look at Nino but he offers no further explanation. Sho places his chopsticks down and stretches back. “So delicious!” He smiles at Jun. “Thank you, Jun. I really do feel better now.”

Jun nods in return. “Anytime.”

Sho wipes the corners of his mouth with his napkin and stands up. “Just going to the bathroom, but I’ll help clean up when I get back.”

Nino waits for Sho to leave the room before leaning forwards, eyes intent on Jun. “You two seem friendly.”

Jun shrugs, avoiding Nino’s gaze. “We’re friends.”

“Uh huh.”

Sure, Sho and Jun seem to be on much better terms since the efforts to give them some alone time together at Ohno’s fake surprise party. Sho is back to being a frequent visitor at Jun and Nino’s apartment, though Nino could do with less of his exam-induced fits of hysteria. He’s unfailingly polite and complimentary to Jun, who returns his remarks with equal grace.

It’s all very pleasant.

Still, there’s an undeniable tension there. Every exchange is underlaid by an odd sense of expectation, as if they’re both waiting for the other to say something more, but neither is sure who is supposed to bridge that gap first. Sho will ask Jun if he’s named his bonsai and Jun will reply that he hasn’t and then they both pause, staring at each other a moment too long before breaking away.

The staring is a newer development as well. With each other, it’s always brief, both seeming incapable of eye contact that last longer than a few seconds. But constantly, their eyes end up drawn to the other when he’s not aware, as if unable to resist the chance to gaze openly as soon as there’s no chance of being caught.

Except that Nino is there to witness all.

“Well,” he drawls. “That’s good. That you’re _friends._ ” Nino doesn’t miss Jun’s slight finch.

He thinks perhaps Aiba’s plan might need a part two.

  
  


“The birthday boy has arrived! Time to get the party started!"

Aiba’s grand entrance would have probably gotten a better response had there been anyone else there besides Nino to welcome him.

“Happy Birthday.” Nino pulls a party popper from his pocket and explodes it with a loud _crack_ , sending cheap, colourful streamers to the floor between them.

“Where is everyone? I want to do birthday shots!” Aiba throws his hands in the air, fingers flashing V-signs. Nino takes the chance to deliver a swift poke to his stomach.

“Jun just went out for ice and Ohno hasn’t arrived yet.” Nino glances behind his shoulder. “Sho is here somewhere…” he gestures vaguely, as if there were many places to hide in the tiny apartment.

Aiba throws an arm over Nino’s shoulder, slumping down to lean his weight on Nino’s shoulders. “Shots for us then. And Sho!” He points at the man who had just walked in from the balcony.

Sho’s face lights up in a smile. “You’re here! Happy Birthday.”

“We’re going to do shots, join us.”

Nino wriggles his body away from Aiba’s hold. “Correction: you can both do shots. I’m going to make sure I don’t end up passing out before everyone actually arrives. Jun already promised to kill me if he ends up solely in charge of this whole thing.”

Aiba shrugs and launches himself at Sho. “Fine, it will just be us then.” Sho laughs and carries Aiba off to where the drinks are.

Three shots, two beers and one mysterious ‘cocktail’ later and the party is in full swing, with Sho at the stage of more than pleasantly buzzed. Aiba is definitely past that. He’d already tried to hold a beer can stacking competition (it ended with Aiba’s tragic loss, very soon after it started) and is now showing off some newly invented dance moves. Sho joins him, both of them jumping around and thrusting their bodies everywhere in increasingly silly ways.

They end up collapsing on the floor, panting from exertion. “I think I’m going to be sick,” Aiba yells into Sho’s ear. “Don’t do it here, Jun will kill you,” he yells back.

Sho realises he hasn’t actually seen Jun in ages. He drags himself to his feet, head spinning a bit, and tries to look for him. It’s soon clear that Jun is neither in the living area nor out on the balcony, so Sho heads to his bedroom.

“Jun,” he calls, knocking on the door. “Are you in there?” He receives no response but barges in anyway, finding that Jun is indeed in there, lying across the middle of the bed with his feet still on the floor.

“C’mon, it’s Aiba’s birthday remember.” Sho walks over to the bed and tugs at one of Jun’s arms. “You gotta get up and join the party.” He manages to pull Jun up off the bed and they stumble, almost falling before coming to a crashing stop against the closet.

Jun is hovering over Sho, his arms braced next to his head. This close he can smell the alcohol on Jun’s breath, fanning over his face on every exhale. Sho supposes his own breath is hardly much better right now. He looks up, past the slightly glistening bottom lip, the imperfections dotted along his skin, to meet Jun’s eyes looking back at him. A lock of hair has fallen over them and Sho reaches to push it back.

He’s stopped by a hand grabbing his his wrist.

“You’re an asshole.”

Sho flinches. That wasn’t exactly what he was expecting to hear.

Jun continues. “You know, I really liked you a lot. And you obviously didn’t feel the same and it was fine, I’m used to it, I know how to move on. So I did. But then you’re always around, and you keep being nice to me even when I act like a dick, and then you made me a _birthday cake_ -”

“Really, it was more of a birthday burnt pile of goop,” Sho interrupts, but Jun ignores him to continue his rant.

“And _then_ you say all those ambiguous things at Ohno’s birthday and act like nothing happened afterwards. How am I supposed to respond to that? Please tell me, because Nino just says we’re both idiots, and I’m starting to think he might be right.”

Jun is somewhat breathless after all of that, his chest heaving noticeably. Sho looks into his eyes and says the first thing that comes to his mind in that moment.

“I think I might like to kiss all the moles on your face, one by one.”

Even Sho can tell that as far as confessions go, that ranked among the completely terrible. Jun glares at him so Sho decides to try it over.

“Wait, forget that. Except the kissing part. I would really like to do that. Because I think I might like you a lot, and probably have for a long time.” He laughs nervously. “Can I start that again?”

Jun sighs. “No,” he says, and leans down to press his lips to Sho’s.

There’s absolutely no finesse in it from either of them, just a neediness that intensifies with every touch. Jun snakes a hand down to grab Sho’s ass and Sho moans, dropping his head back against the closet behind him. Jun follows the movement with his mouth, latching onto Sho’s bottom lip once more. Sho finds himself running his hands down Jun’s sides, feeling the hard lines there, the way they taper to a narrow waist. He decides he wants to explore more, pushing up Jun’s shirt to feel the taut abdomen muscles underneath.

They’re interrupted by the sound of the door banging open. Both look over at the intrusion, twin expressions of shock on their faces.

It’s Nino standing there.

Everyone is silent. Nino just looks them up and down, taking note of the way their bodies are still locked together, hands frozen in the midst of clawing at each other.

“ _Finally_ ,” he says.

Sho and Jun stare at him. Nino reaches into his pockets, pulling out a pair of trick handcuffs. “I was seriously about to force you guys together with these, but I guess I won’t need them anymore.” He looks at them consideringly. “Though I guess you might want them,” he says and tosses them onto the bed.

With that, Nino turns around and heads back out of the bedroom, yelling for Aiba as he shuts the door. Sho and Jun stay frozen in shock, their previous frenzied lust suddenly forgotten.

Sho glances over Jun’s shoulder at the handcuffs on the bed. “I don’t know that I’m quite ready for… _that_.”

He’s worried about Jun’s response, but Jun smiles at him. “It’s okay. We don’t need to rush anything. But if it’s alright, maybe we could just… sleep? Together, I mean. I’m kind of exhausted.”

Sho nods, relieved. “I think I’d like that.”

Jun steps back, disentangling himself from Sho. “I have some clothes you can borrow.” He turns away but Sho grabs forward to stop him.

“Hey,” he says. “I’m sorry. For being such an idiot. I hope I can make it up to you?”

Jun’s smile right then might be the most beautiful thing Sho has ever seen.

“I’m sure you can.”

  
  


The next morning, Sho stumbles out of Jun’s bedroom in dire need of coffee. He freezes at the sight of Nino sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.

Nino looks up at him and smirks. “If you’re going to be sleeping over here, then I’m really going to make you pay rent. Extra if you keep me awake with your weird, awkward sex noises.”

Sho turns red and flees back to Jun’s room, Nino’s laughter following him all the while.

Jun is still lying on the bed, awake now and watching Sho. “Your roommate’s an asshole,” Sho says, crawling back into bed next to Jun.

“Hm,” Jun murmurs, moving over to place a light kiss on Sho’s temple. Sho shivers at the touch. “You know what would get him back?” He places another kiss just below Sho’s earlobe and reaches up to whisper in his ear.

“Really loud sex.”

Sho stiffens as the words head straight to his cock. Next to him, Jun collapses into laughter and Sho scowls. “I really hate you both.” He rolls away, putting his back to Jun.

Jun reaches over to sling an arm over Sho’s waist, snuggling in behind him. “Yeah?” Sho can feel Jun’s breath prickling the back of his neck. “Because I think I might really like you.”

Sho can’t help but smile at the words, finding himself relaxing back into Jun’s hold and allowing him to press kisses up the nape of his neck.

Maybe some really loud sex wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.


End file.
